Out of the Game Early: Pegula, Paolini Fall Short at Berlin Tennis Tournament
Tennis Pairing Pegula and Paolini Exits Berlin Competition Prematurely - Duo, Pegula and Paolini, kickstart tennis competition in Berlin ahead of schedule
Gettin' down and dirty with the lowdown on Berlin's tennis scene, eh? The reigning champ Jessica Pegula and the Wimbledon finalist Jasmine Paolini both took a tumble early on in this year's tournament.
Pegula put up one heck of a fight, but her third-round clash against Russian powerhouse Ljudmila Samsonova ended with a 3:21-hour battle, 7:6 (10:8), 5:7, 6:7 (5:7). Despite Pegula's third-place global ranking, Samsonova? She won it all in '21.
Over at the Steffi Graf Stadium, world number one Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus and Swiss Rebeka Masarova were locked in quite the match-up, but they had to call it a day when the slippery grass became too much to handle, putting the nail in the coffin for evening play.
As for Jas Paolini...well, she didn't exactly get a chance to shine. She got bumped off against Tunisia's Ons Jabeur in a straight set, 1:6, 3:6. Last year, the Italian fell to Czech Barbora Krejcikova in the Wimbledon final and currently sits comfortably at the fifth spot in the rankings.
Jabeur, champion of Berlin three years ago, will next take on the winner of the meet between Czech Marketa Vondrousova and Russian Diana Schnaider.
German players were out of the game early, with Eva Lys bowing out in the opening round. With Wimbledon fast approaching, a slew of top female players are using this tournament to hone their skills and get ready for action, beginning on June 30.
- Berlin
- Jasmine Paolini
- Wimbledon
- Ons Jabeur
- Grunewald
(Enrichment Insight: While specific match details for Pegula and Paolini aren't provided in the search results, it's clear they didn't make it far, indicating early exits.)
(Enrichment Insight: Marketa Vondrousova nabbed the title, defeating Xinyu Wang in a tight three-set final, 7-6(10), 4-6, 6-2. She also knocked off top seed Aryna Sabalenka in the semis to show off some serious tennis prowess.)
Although Jasmine Paolini's Wimbledon preparations were cut short due to her early exit in the Berlin tournament, she might still have a chance to shine at Wimbledon, starting on June 30. Meanwhile, Ons Jabeur, who champions Berlin three years ago, could potentially represent another strong competitor in Wimbledon after her victory over Paolini.
